Vadodara (Gujarat) [India], May 12 (ANI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for making 'Vocal for Local' a mass movement and urged people to adopt local products instead of foreign goods, and empower the entrepreneurs in cities and villages.

The Prime Minister, who inaugurated Sardardham Hostel in Vadodara, lauded entrepreneurial spirit of Gujarat. 'Converting change into opportunity, adopting new possibilities, and preparing for the future in time have been part of Gujarat's work culture, enabling the state to create new identities across every emerging sector,' he said.

He said the government is making relentless efforts to ensure that impact of West Asia war crisis on citizens is kept to an absolute minimum and urged people to reduce consumption of imported products and avoid personal activities that incur expenditure in foreign exchange.

PM Modi said that COVID-19 pandemic was the greatest crisis of this century, then the situation arising from the war in West Asia is one of the major crises of the decade.

He said just as the country collectively tackled the pandemic, 'we will undoubtedly overcome this crisis too'.

The Prime Minister said in the earlier decades too, whenever the country has gone through war or any other major crisis, every citizen has fulfilled their responsibility in the same way in response to the government's appeal.

He said prices of imported goods are soaring while global supply chains have also been severely disrupted due to West Asia crisis.

'Today, too, there is a need for all of us to come together and fulfil our responsibility to reduce the burden on the country's resources. India spends lakhs of crores of rupees in foreign exchange to import many products from abroad. At the same time, the prices of imported goods are soaring, and global supply chains have also been severely disrupted. Just as every drop fills a pot, every small and big effort matters. We must reduce the use of products that come from abroad and avoid unnecessary dependence on imported goods in our daily lives, and also avoid such personal activities that involve spending foreign exchange,' he said.

The Prime Minister urged people to reduce use of petrol and diesel to the extent possible and suggested virtual meetings and work from home in government and private offices.

He said a huge amount of the country's money also goes abroad on gold imports and urged people to postpone the purchase of gold until the situation returns to normal.

'I appeal to every citizen of my country to reduce the use of petrol-diesel as much as possible. Use the metro, make greater use of electric buses and public transport, and promote carpooling. Those who have a car should take more people along in one vehicle. Digital technology has now made so many things easy that technology's assistance will also be very beneficial for us. It is essential that priority be given to virtual meetings and work from home in both government and private offices,' he said

'A huge amount of the country's money also goes abroad on gold imports. Therefore, I would urge all of you, my fellow countrymen, to postpone the purchase of gold until the situation returns to normal. Today, the need of the hour is that we turn 'Vocal for Local' into a people's movement. Instead of foreign goods, adopt local products. Empower the entrepreneurs of your village, your city, your country,' he added.

PM Modi had made similar appeal in Telangana on Sunday.

He spoke about Gujarat's strides including progress in semiconductor facilities in Sanad with production already commenced at Kaynes Semiconductor Plant. Detailing new semiconductor projects advancing in both Dholera and Surat alongside articulating national aspiration for supply chain centralization, he identified regional nodes within global networks. 'Gujarat is positioning itself as a critical node in global semiconductor supply chains, with Vadodara increasingly playing important roles in this transformation as metro coaches from here already reach international markets,' he said.

He talked about Vadodara's manufacturing specialization across diverse sectors while highlighting the city's emergence as a robust hub for engineering, heavy machinery, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and power equipment.

'Vadodara has become a manufacturing powerhouse across multiple sectors, with emerging aerospace capabilities suggesting the city's evolution into a globally recognized aviation hub,' he said. (ANI)